Construction World January 2015

EQUIPMENT

50 YEARS IN BOTSWANA On 30 October 2014, Barloworld Equipment Botswana officially celebrated its 50 th anniversary as the country’s Cat earthmoving dealer: a major milestone and one that reflects a rich history of private and public sector partnerships that have helped to shape the country’s mining and infrastructure landscape since 1964.

machine population and the company places between 15 and 30 learners on its earthmoving mechanic apprenticeship programme annually. Training takes place at the Gaborone branch. This is combined with practical and theoretical components at Barloworld Equipment’s Technical Training Centre in Isando, Johannesburg. Barloworld Equipment, as an affili- ated member of the Botswana Chamber of Mines (BCM), also works closely with the BCM on developing training programmes for industry through the BCM Technical Working Group (TWG). Skills development prepares the way for expansion plans within Botswana’s mining industry, as well as the creation of the Small and Medium Enterprises needed to stimu- late micro-economic growth. Allied to this is Barloworld Equipment’s active involvement in Corporate Social Investment and community initiatives in Botswana. These include the annual Barlow- orld Equipment Softball Tournament at Jwaneng in support of one of Botswana’s most popular sports. Barloworld Equipment is also a regular contributor to Debswana’s annual ‘General Managers’ Sponsored Walk’ at Orapa, which raises funds for underpriv- ileged members of the community in the Boteti region. For Botswana, the future holds so much promise. Aside from diamonds, Botswana’s mostly untapped and vast coal reserves present huge potential for green field projects, as well as associated infrastruc- ture; whilst a USD337-million investment by Botswana’s state owned mining concern, BCL Limited, opens up new local and regional opportunities. This follows the sale by Russia’s Norilsk Nickel of its 50 percent interest in the Nkomati nickel and chrome mine in South Africa, and its 85% stake in Tati Nickel Mining Company in Botswana to BCL. BCL is based in Selebi-Phikwe where underground mining operations are spread over a strike of 14km trending north to south. Here a fleet of Cat R1600G under- ground mining loaders form the backbone of the production programme at a mine that has strategic importance for Botswana’s projected GDP target growth. director, Barloworld Equipment Botswana, cut the Cat cake to commemorate 50 years in Botswana. Barloworld Equipment CEO Southern Africa, Dominic Sewela (left) and Sean Walsh, managing

The current situation Mining remains the major contributor to Botswana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and from inception Cat machines have played their part in unlocking the value on existing and green field projects. The same is true for infrastructure programmes, with a large portion of Botswana’s original national road network post independence in 1966 built by a succession of contractors using Cat equipment. A current infrastructure example is the Tonata to Francistown road upgrade where a Cat RM500 rotary mixer is responsible for all stabilisation phases. The project was awarded to China Railway Seventh Group Botswana, with the 30 month contract commencing in May 2013. In terms of mining machine milestones, Botswana was the first country in Africa to receive delivery of the Cat 7495 elec- tric rope shovel, which has an operating weight of approximately 1 388 000 kg and a payload capacity of 109 tonnes, making it a three pass loading match for ultra sized off-highway mining trucks. Three Cat 7495 units were commissioned at Jwaneng during 2012 for Debswana’s Cut 8 expansion project. (Jwaneng is the richest diamond mine in the world by value.) Debswana was also one of the first in the Southern African region to take delivery of a range of latest generation Cat hydraulic mining shovels for deployment at its Orapa and Jwaneng operations. Training to support these and other Cat units is a core focus at Barloworld Equipment to keep pace with the growing

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“It has been an amazing journey so far and one that reflects our commitment to Botswana’s socio- economic growth through the

supply of world class equipment and services, supported by our investment in the human resources needed to support these machines in the field across the multi-fac- eted industries that we serve,” says Sean Walsh, managing director for Barloworld Equipment Botswana. “In all these areas, health and safety is our company’s number one value, both on ours and our customers’ sites. This dedica- tion is further reinforced by advanced safety features built into each machine across the broad Cat machine spectrum.” History The first registered Barloworld Equip- ment entity in Botswana was known as Construction Equipment Supplier Company, established on 12 September 1964. Then in 1971, the name changed to Botswana Earthmoving Machinery Co (Bemco). The existing head office in Francistown was expanded to support major mining activity at Selibi-Phikwe and Orapa, which today remain key copper and nickel, and diamond centres, respectively. Then in 1981, the head office relocated to Gaborone to provide support for Debswa- na’s newly established Jwaneng mine, which became fully operational in August 1982. Bemco subsequently became Barlows Equipment, finally transitioning to become Barloworld Equipment. The current staff complement is around 450.

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A high production machine, the Cat 7495 electric rope shovel is an optimal three to four pass loading match for ultra size mining trucks.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2015